, 1887-05-19

should be protected and encouraged
AS number Of streets have been
and are being closed up by the rail.
road company, and as / understand
various property holders along such
streets have threatened suit against
the city for allowing them to be so
obstructed, | would recommend
that the matter have your careful
consideration, to the end that the
rights Of the city in the premises be
determined and maintained.
In the matter of street grades,
there are several places In the streets
already graded which / would
recomnend for alteration. Above
ali is Howard street from First to
Seventh, which has been the source
OF so much complaint. Next to that
are the crossings of Riverside
avenue from Washington to Post
street, where pools of water collect
after each storm or thaw.
would also suggest that the most
careful attention and scrutiny be
given to all new grades submitted
by the city engineer in the future.
The vextatious litigation with
which the city Is now overwhelmed
on account of the Howard street
grade and the resistance encountered
in the collection of assessments for
that purpose from persons who Pc
titioned for the work to be done, Is
great stumbling block in the way of
the rapid and effective opening of
the other streets of the city, the i'm
provement Of which is necessary to
accommodate the rapidly increasing
business.
The resurvey OF the original city
was made in 1881; the survey of the
railroad and other additions being
made subsequently,. Most of the
corners were marked by wooden
plugs which are fast disappearing,
and 1t is of the utmost importance
that enduring monuments should be
established by which the surveys uf
streets, etc, can be made to conform
exactly with the original ded icatiOn,
and all litigation prevented. These
should be put in before the disap-
pearance of the old stakes is
complete, as 1t will cost
comparatively little and save
expensive re-surveys, such as
have had to be made in Portland and
Seattle. l would respectfully rec
commend that two permanent mon
uments be established on each of the
principal streets from such original
corners as can be found at this time,
and also that permanent monuments
be erected at each of the corners of
the various additions to the city.
While On the subject of street i'm
provements wish to direct your at
tention to the matter of sidewalks,
about which considerable complaint
has reached me. 1t seems that the
efforts heretofore made by the coun-
Gil to compel the construction OF
sidewalks upon some of the princi-
pal streets Of the city have been
rendered unavailing principally
through the neglect of minority Of
the owners of abutting property,
while those who have cheerfully
complied with the ordinance and
constructed walks in front of their
lots feel discouraged and justly in
dignant. All this is wrong, and in
my judgment the council can not too
soon decide upon a line of policy to
be pursued in such matters, and to
vigorously enforce it,
SEWERAGE.
The system adopted for sewerage
in the city is the Waring or Separate
system, which has met with such
admirable success in Memphis and
Pullman. Its principal features are:
First, that the sewer pipes are used
for house drainage alone and not for
rain water.
Second, that the pipes are made as
small as possible and kept continually
clean by automatic flush tanks. Two
thousand seven hundred feet of pipe
have been laid; nineteen hundred
feet of 1t being 10.inch and the re-
mainder 8 and 6 inch. The grade is a
fall of one foot In 243. There are two
flush tanks holding respectively 400
and 140 gallons, which discharge
every two and one half hours. The
seven discharges into the Spokane
river forty feet from the bank at a
point below the falls, where there il
a strong current at low water. The
flow of water from the tanks has
been tested and everything is work.
ing admirably.
For several months past the eX-
penses of city police in the preser-
walton of law and order have so in
creased as to become II matter of
concern. Some method should be
devised by which convicted persons
may be made to labor upon the
streets, and the operating causes of
this item of expense be made, as far
as practicable, to bear the burden.
In this connection 1t may not be out
of place to allude to the subject of
licenses, the principal sources of
revenue TO the city as its affairs are
now administered. Much of the
growth of expenses above mentioned
Is to be attributed to the liquor
traffic, and it Is certainly wise and
just to tax that interest to meet a
part of the increased demands Of the
city for police purposes. / therefore
recommend that you bear this fact
In mind in fixing liquor licenses for
the ensuing year, and IL found con-
sisient with the rights of this recOg-
nized business, that such licenses be
moderately increased.